In an attempt to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, some local governments are planning to ask convenience stores to rethink their round-the-clock operations. If fully implemented, fewer business hours would have a great impact on people's lifestyles. As a first step, though, it would be necessary to consider various factors in nationwide public discussions on convenience stores.
According to a Kyodo News survey, nine local governments — Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto and Gunma prefectures and the cites of Yokohama, Kyoto and Hiroshima — express positive views about asking convenience stores to reduce their operating hours.
The Japan Franchise Association feels that the convenience stores industry has been singled out for "sniping at." It says that the adoption of 7 a.m.-11 p.m. operating hours, for example, would increase daytime merchandise transportation, leading to increased COe emissions during the day, and would reduce the industry's COe emissions by 4 percent, equivalent to only 0.009 percent of the nation's total emissions. It also says that the reduction in business hours would reduce sales by 20 percent and affect the employment of about 1.3 million people.